Monday, March 12, 2018

It was around 7 or so in the afternoon and she was here, drinking a coffee. At a cafe. For the sake of killing her time. If there was anything you learned from watching Van Helsing and browsing the web for hours on end, it was that vampires couldn't stand the light. And whilst that would've been quite handy when it came to identifying one―if they even existed in the first place―it'd probs thaw 'em away at the same time.

So, being the considerate girl she was, she chose a time when the sun wouldn't burn one's skin. A time when the rays were gentler and the 'vamp' could come crawling out. Part of her wondered why the fuck she even bothered, but another part of her just wanted to be entertained.

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Kam &nbsp

She was quite patient and so, fifteen minutes weren't really that long. She'd settled on studying the people that walked by, taking note of their faces and the way they dressed, the taste of coffee still bitter in her mouth.

Amber eyes then focused on a chick coming her way and she waited for her to approach whilst taking another sip from her coffee and placing the cup back down. As it was only natural, a question was shot her way and an answer to said question would be returned. "The deal's quite simple," a brief pause, "You'll get your blood once you prove you are what you claim, provided you don't rip me in two." A faint smirk, hand drawing the cup of coffee closer.

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Shinka&nbsp

"I won't rip you in half if you keep your voice down," Dax said dryly, her own volume at a discrete level.

She bared her teeth in something like a grimace, demonstrating her perfectly average set of pearly whites. Then she closed again.

It was no effort to flash some fangs -- the opposite, even. She just had to let go a little, like releasing a knot of tension, and their long points slid out. Anticipating a meal, surrounded by so many pulsing bodies.

She grinned toothily. Not warmly. "Want to give them a tug?"Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

It was just genuine teasing, the kind of humor that was probably a bit too much.

Had she just been racist to a vampire?

Was that comment somehow racist in the first place???

The grimace was replaced by a toothy smile then and the blonde found herself surprised, but not extremely alarmed. It was a toothy grin, one which lacked the warmth a grin usually held. She.. honestly didn't know how to feel about this and the fact that they were in a public place with people around probably helped ease her sense of panic.

It was.. unreal. Holy fucking shit."How―" A pause was put to her question, amber eyes flicking off to the side, watching a few people get up and leave the cafe. "...Did you get turned?"You had to be 'turned' by another vampire, right? Wasn't this what all of the damn movies demonstrated?

A vampire.

She was talking to a fucking vampire and she still had no fucking idea how to feel about this.

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Shinka&nbsp

Dax didn't want to talk about that. The memory of that night still loomed like a spectre, old, residual fear rising to the surface when she recalled the feel of Johnny's teeth mangling her hand. She still bore the scars from that; her neck might have magically healed, but those wounds hadn't.

Except she kind of did want to talk about it? But she didn't want to want to talk about it. Reina hadn't asked about it. She wanted her to. She also didn't want to want to... okay whatever this train of thought was getting out of hand.

"Wrong place at the wrong time. During the riots." Her fangs like cotton in her mouth until they slowly receded, leaving her gums aching with regret and want but her words a little clearer.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

Sorry vampy lady, if she was meant to get something here, she totally missed it.

Vampires in Cordova was new shit to her.

Still, she would not push 'cause she reckoned if this gal was anything like the vamps on TV.. Well.. she'd be kinda fucked if she ended up pissing her off. "Sorry to hear," it sounded genuine even if she wasn't sure whether she meant it or not. "How does it feel? Is it the same as before?" Here, maybe she could get another, less painful question answered instead.

Her head tilted slightly, attention very much still on the gal.

Just answer her this and you were gonna get your blood.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

It felt mostly the same, except not having to breathe because you were already dead, but walking sweet planet Earth, still. So far, it was like everything she'd read and seen in movies. Heck, there were even some websites out there, ran by people who'd encountered said vampires and. She was just sitting here. Talking to one.

Talking to one, who.. wasn't extremely bubbly, but then again. Who the fuck was?

Being dead kinda tended to bring the mood down.

"I bet it is," she mused quietly and then spared a quick glance around. The chick had kept her half of the deal, brought her undead self here, flashed some pearly whites and now it was Amy's part of the deal that was still pending. Hmm. Okay.. getting sucked on by a vampire did not.. sound extremely appareling.

But.. it was the deal and despite being an ass, she tended to keep her word. So..

"Alright, question game is over." Simple as that. Admittedly, there weren't that many people left sitting in the surrounding tables. There was only this one guy sitting off far into the distance, absorbed by his phone and a mother with some 5 year-old who'd just gotten up and started walking away.

The deal was blood and she bet one could get a hold of that from fucking everywhere, so like.. Chances were the undead chick could sink her pointy-ass teeth in her arm, or wrist, or somewhere generally more discreet, right?

Umm.. well...

Placing her arm on the table, she quirked a brow at the chick and waited.

Don't get her wrong, she was gonna keep her part of the deal, but she wasn't gonna drag herself in some alley to get sucked on.

It was either here or.. the bathroom―which she reckoned would be far less appetizing― or nothing at all.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Shinka&nbsp

Dax stared blankly at the woman's arm, then back up to her face with half of a scowl that also might just have been a resting bitch face. Seriously? Was she just... seriously? This chick had to be fucking with her.

"My car's out front," she said evenly. "You can even pick the radio station for the five minutes this will take." Thank god for tinted windows.

She hadn't considered what she would do if the woman bailed on her end of the bargain, although there wasn't much she could do if the implied thread of her, y'know, being a literal vampire wasn't encouragement enough.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

It was probably a reasonable request from the chick sitting in front of her. To move the feeding to her car. But.. the idea of being in a car with an undead person with pointy teeth.. was not... extremely appealing. Still, life was a mixture of risk-taking and dumb decisions and, on that note, she supposed she could add this to her list.

"Alright, let's go," getting up, pushing the chair back in its place, she waited for the chick to stand as well. "Lead the way." See? She was being nice here, letting you 'lure' her to your car and all that shit, have a free meal. The words were spoken in a warmer tone, even.

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Shinka&nbsp

Dax stood with the woman, nudging her chair back into place before leading the way to the door. However, halfway across the cafe, she abruptly detoured to the counter and scrutinized the pastries with an expert eye. "Chocolate chip or peanut butter?" she asked the chick, and upon answer forked over a handful of folded bills to the cashier -- or just a chocolate chip one if she didn't get an answer.

Dax handed the cookie in its sleeve to her new acquaintance, and then once more proceeded outside. Her car -- a small black sedan -- sat in the back of the parking lot. She unlocked both doors with a quiet click of the locks and slid into her seat, turning on the car and adjusting the heat to a human-comfortable temperature as she waited for the girl to join her.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

Being handed a cookie just 'cause some switch flipped in the doll's brain was another one entirely.

Like... was it weird she found this stranger? It was just. Wow.

She, of course, had chosen to remain silent, content to just follow after the shorter gal and probably get herself into something she was gonna regret afterwards. The only positive side to this was the fact that she knew that vampires didn't just exist in movies and books.

Hmm.

Flip knife in her pocket―as usual―she teetered on the spot a moment whilst the vamp unlocked the car. A small black sedan it was, nothing too remarkable, but it certainly got the job done. Part of her had kinda hoped she'd come across someone with a vibrant personality such as Robbie's, but.

Maybe this was reserved for blue haired people only.

The vamp waited for her to join her and she did, very much on edge, but maintaining a steady heartbeat. The doors were closed, amber eyes seeking eye contact with green ones. "Gonna do it the cliche way?" Curious more than anything else.

...Someone please add this to her list of weird shit if she didn't make it.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

Everything about this was weird as hell, but at least she got reminded she was dealing with a person—mostly, anyway—and that.. sort of made the thought of teeth against her skin less disturbing.

And oh, lookie here, the vamp even gave her a choice in the matter.

Neck or wrist?

Hmm... Well, scrap that.

Moving onto question numero dos. "Morbid curiosity with a side of boredom, I suppose." A shrug was offered, tone genuine. "It wasn't something I expected to be real, got proven wrong it seems." She didn't think honesty would hurt anyone in this case, so there was that. As for her choice in the matter.. "If you don't mind.." She trailed off, some sense of humor still dancing in her tone. No offense, darling, but teeth against her neck did not seem particularly safe.

Her wrist was presented like it was some sort of holy steak―that thought was mildly disturbing, actually―to the undead chick.

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Shinka&nbsp

She had offered to meet a vampire in exchange for her blood... out of boredom? Goddamn this chick was more self-destructive than Dax was! And Dax had gone wandering around during the were riots for no reason!

Okay, maybe not more self-destructive.

She must not have been in Mountainside long if she hadn't believed in vampires. As if making national headlines wasn't proof enough.

"It doesn't hurt," Dax informed her absentmindedly as she accepted the offered arm, gently guiding her into place. This felt weirdly uncomfortable—not as pleasant as Cris coming right to her door—but she wasn't about to turn her nose up at an easy solution to that night's appetite.

She leaned forward, hair curtaining around her face, and pressed the tips of her fangs against the girl's wrist. They punctured skin easily and neatly, and blood welled up, and Dax got to work, totally in control for once in her life.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

Thanks for letting her know, darling. Now she was finally at ease and this had suddenly stopped being weird.

She let the vampire position her wrist however she pleased, her other free hand never straying far from the pocket of her shorts, just.. In case. things got grim A total stranger wasn't about to be trusted fully—yes, even if she didn't try to like.. tear her to shreds.

There was a small pressure against her skin, at first and then.. Nothing. Just nothing.

She was literally getting sucked on by a vampire and she didn't feel a thing, fucking brilliant.

Still she'd remain, amber eyes occasionally studying the inside of the car, the seats, but her attention would always return back to the vamp.

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Shinka&nbsp

Touching people always opened up an instant emotional highway between them and her. At least the chick wasn't panicking or otherwise freaking out—just an idle sense of "what the fuck" and a bit of nerves—but it still wasn't particularly pleasant.

A couple minutes later when the girl's heartrate had slowed with the loss of blood, Dax drew away, releasing her grip on the girl's arm and pressing her lips together to rub away any leftover hint of blood. Then she swiped a tongue over her teeth for the same.

The wounds were small and discreet, with only a faint redness.

Easy peasy.

Dax was left warm and content, and she settled back into the driver's seat with a slightly less bitchy resting bitch face than usual. "Eat your cookie," she instructed the girl.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

Teeth were off her wrist and surprisingly enough, blood hadn't started shooting everywhere. Perhaps this was some new sort of magic along with the numbing properties of those teeth, but whatever the case.. it sure as hell was fascinating in a weird way.

"Eat your cookie."

Of course, the cookie.

How could she forget about the cookie?

"I suppose asking for a name would be a bit much, hm?" Not quite prodding, but the interest to know was there. Tentative with the wrapping, she chose to let her fingers linger against if for a few more seconds, see if she could actually get the chick to speak.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Shinka&nbsp

Dax hummed indecisively before conceding, "Dax." She'd just snacked on this chick, the least she deserved was a name and a cookie. "You?"

She slid one of her shoes off to pull one leg up onto the seat, tucking her foot underneath the opposite leg. Settling in for the next few minutes she got to play nurse while making sure her blood donor didn't pass out.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

Truth be told, it wasn't a name she had the pleasure of hearing many times―let alone from the female population. If anything, it reminded her of that freckled kid she had the misfortune of going to primary school with, but oh well.. Maybe she could associate that name with something cooler now.

Said cooler being the undead chick she was having a conversation with.

The thought to give a false name did cross her mind, but ultimately, she decided it simply wasn't worth the effort. I mean.. the vamp had her phone number, so like. Who the fuck cared at this point."Amy," well, there ya go, have her name. Or.. well. Half her name, a nickname of her name because she never really got used to using her whole name.

Whatever.

Cookie finally unwrapped, she decided to be relatively quick about this―minding not to act like Fray, fyi―because people who ate painfully slow peeved her to no end. "Another round I take it?" You were the one who got settled, not her, darling.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

It was one of two things; she was either getting extremely bad at maintaining some sort of decent humor or Dax wasn't meant for humor. Don't worry, honey, not everyone was. She would've probably broken the joke down to the chick, but. The radio started playing all of a sudden, amber eyes shooting off to the side.

Then her eyes returned back to Dax as she turned off the radio, a mildly questioning look plastered across her features.

But then. The radio turned back on and the brown haired chick turned the volume down to zero and just..

What the fuck was this?

"What kind of game are you playing here?" It wasn't accusatory, her tone. Amusement was clear, eyes briefly flicking over to inspect all those buttons.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Shinka&nbsp

"Sorry, my car is haunted," Dax deadpanned, leveling Amy an even stare. Then, after a beat, she cracked a small grin.

She wasn't worried about scaring the girl off anymore—Dax had gotten her payment after all—but it seemed a little too mean to play that up entirely straight-faced. Even if her car was, y'know, haunted. Along with the rest of her life.

Dax slumped back, pulling both knees up and wedging her legs against the steering wheel. "Do you believe in ghosts?" she asked with a sly smile. "Now that you've met a real life vampire?"Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

First vampires and now ghosts. This was too much for a Monday afternoon.

Way too much.

She blinked once, then twice. Then it was back to staring at the radio and finally back at Dax when a query flew from her mouth. Did she believe in ghosts now that she's met a real life vampire?"You gotta be fucking kidding me," no seriously, were you? "I.. don't know. I guess? Suppose it'd be nice to know there's more to dying other than being put six feet under the ground." She was conversing with an undead chick who'd just sucked her blood, in a haunted car.

...Feelings were.. mixed...

Still, though, as mildly unnerving as this was.. she wasn't about to chicken out and run away screaming. "Can you see them? Is this some sort of perk us mortals are not aware?" Cue another side glance over to the radio.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The volume dial twitched, a barely discernible movement that registered on the LCD screen as a single uptick in volume, from zero to one. It sounded more like static than music, if it sounded like anything at all.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

Holy fucking shit.. If Dax was being honest about this, she.. honestly didn't know if she'd be able to process it. But, it hardly mattered, because like.. ghosts were a thing now apparently??

She was never one to straight out rule anything out and even when she'd said to Skuld that she didn't believe in spirits and shit, it was only because there was no proof to support that theory, but now there was and like??

A vampire, who could see ghosts, named Dax.

Okay then.

Exhaling silently, she waited for an answer, the uptick in volume gone completely unnoticed.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Shinka&nbsp

"Probably." She hesitated before confessing, "I've never actually tried." And by confess, she meant "say in a largely monotone voice but maybe with a small inflection at the end".

She'd actively leveraged her powers only once. With the Scrabble board and Beau and the shifter bitch, trying to stir an old, reticent spirit to life. Or... well, relative life. And all she'd gotten from it was "DICKS" spelled out in little wooden letters. And other than Cris, no one had ever been able to see her ghosts before, but maybe if she tried to like. Channel them? Or something?

She could probably do it.

The volume dial turned two more ticks. Dax looked away from Amy to eye it briefly, waiting for the bugger to turn the radio all the way up, but when nothing stirred for a beat, she returned her attention to the girl.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

Luckily for you, Dax, she had to deal with Skuld on a daily basis so. Your monotone wasn't something new. If anything, it kind of reminded her of the older woman. Dax was like.. a younger version of Skuld, resting bitch face, monotone voice and then the occasional smirk here and there.

"Does it have to be a ghost with a connection to the ones in the r―car, or.. does it work with whoever invisible, poofy guy you find lingering about?" Her eyes then flicked over to the radio as the volume raised just a tad. Distinguishable, it was distinguishable. "Do you happen to know?" And there went the other half of her question.

This.. felt so fucking unreal.

But.

She was willing to just go with the flow, forget about any and all logic for once and just.. Ghosts and vampires, motherfuckers.

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Shinka&nbsp

"The car isn't actually haunted." Her lips twitched in a betrayal of thought. "I am?" She'd never actually thought about it that way—but it was kind of true.

Alright, way to be vague, Dax. Maybe elaborate on that a bit. "They just hang around me, since I can see them. There's a few regulars who stick to me, but I can talk to any of them. And I can see a lot of them, without really trying. They just walk up to me in the middle of the friggin' street, wanting to shoot the shit."Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

And she was able to see them. Talk to them even. Did that mean.. she could actually talk to anyone she wanted? Could she summon a desired ghost? Could she summon her uncle? Talk to him, ask him what had happened that evening. Ask him where she'd went wrong. Ask him if she'd made the right choices―heck, she didn't know.

She didn't know if she actually wanted to know.

She didn't know if she wanted to ask, make contact.

"Can you bring one forward, maybe ask it to manifest itself into something both of us would be able to see?" It was a genuine question, her mind pushing any sense of logic to the far back. Ghosts and vampires existed and right now, she was going to get the most out of this experience.

Trying to talk with the dead with an undead chick? Done.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Shinka&nbsp

The gears in Dax's brain turned quickly, superseding her general desire to brag about and/or show off her ghosts.

Instead of answering immediately, she turned slightly to pop open the center console and rifle through the loose change and crumpled receipts. She eventually came up with a single business card. The design was simple, but the card stock was nice—sturdy, black, and textured—with glossy silver lettering.

DAX ATTWOOD
GHOST WRITER
(123) 456-7890
dax@attwood.com

"In case you lose my number," she informed Amy as she handed her the business card, flashing a sly smile. "Text me in a couple days. Then we can play twenty questions again and I'll show you some ghosts. Same deal as today."Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Kam &nbsp

If anything reminded her of herself, it was the way Dax chose to flip the tables.

Cheeky bitch.

Her eyes trailed the card she'd been given, thumb briefly running over it to feel the texture it held. It was sturdy, black and with silver letters offering all the information one could probably want. But, in reality, it was just a whole lotta nothing.

How typical.

The same deal as today stood. Blood for ghosts.

Truth be told, she wasn't extremely fond of the idea of being 'used', the concept of having to back down some and give something in order to get something in return irritating her the faintest bit. Still, though, she had time to mull over it. Perhaps get a second opinion on the matter―although, now that she thought of it.. she'd kinda have to explain what the fuck it was that had possessed her to meet a vampire.

"Fancy," a near purr, tone clearly teasing. Card still at hand, she waved it briefly in front of Dax's face before she slid it in one of her pockets. The sly smile was of course returned and then she went to open the sedan's door. "Tell your ghostly radio I said hi by the way," and with that, she'd shut the sedan's door neatly and be done with whatever the heck this was.Wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh